Spine animation is a 2D skeletal animation tool specifically designed for game development. By binding images to bones and then controlling the bones to create animations, it offers flexibility and control for developers while providing an efficient and streamlined workflow for artists and designers. Compared to traditional frame-by-frame animations, Spine animations offer the following advantages:

• Smaller Size: Traditional animations require every frame to be provided as an image. In contrast, Spine animations only store skeletal animation data, resulting in significantly smaller file sizes.
• Reduced Art Requirements: Spine animations require fewer art resources, allowing more manpower and resources to be allocated to other aspects of game development.
• Smoothness: Spine animations use interpolation algorithms to calculate in-between frames, ensuring consistently smooth animation playback.
• Attachment Swapping: Images are bound to bones to create animations. You can easily swap character equipment or even alter the character's appearance to reuse animations for different purposes.
• Blending: Animations can be blended seamlessly. For example, a character can shoot while walking, running, jumping, or swimming.
• Programmatic Animations: Bones can be controlled via code, enabling effects such as shooting that follows the mouse, focusing on enemies, or leaning forward when climbing a slope.

This chapter will introduce:

• How to use Spine animations in the Galacean editor
• How to use the Galacean Spine runtime in code
• Examples and templates
• Additional topics (versions, performance)